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Today I made my annual pilgrimage to The Championships on Wimbledon's hallowed turf, for my 33rd consecutive year. It being towards the end of the tournament, there was no queue and I purchased a £20 Ground Admissions ticket.
I made my way to Court 8 to watch a Junior Boys Singles featuring 17 year old Scotland's Aiden McHugh. He was up against the older, more experienced, higher ranked and taller Frenchman Martineau. Sitting myself on a courtside bench, I had a perfect view of the match. McHugh started well, taking the first two games, but the Frenchman got his act together and won 6 of the next 7 games to take the first set. The second set was a lot closer as the Brit triumphed in a tie-break. However, the greater experience of Martineau came to the fore as he took the decider to 2. Nevertheless, McHugh showed some great touches and fighting spirit. It'll be interesting to see how he, and the other juniors I saw today, develop over the next 10 years - many struggle to make the transition to the full tour.
Next I made a beeline for Court 18 for the third scheduled match, but was lucky enough to arrive 3 games into the second match, another Junior Boys Singles between Austria's Jurij Rodionov and Australia's Blake Ellis. I was sitting behind Rodionov's suppot camp, which gave the match an extra perspective. Rodionov took the first set 6-3 before Ellis levelled in a tie-break. Rodionov then matched the first set score to take the match. He celebrated with his camp in front of me and took time to sign autographs. Again, both players showed promise.
The next match was a Junior Girls Doubles, featuring Britain's Katie Swan, partnering USA's Kayla Day, against Germany's Jule Niemeier and Latvia"s Daniela Vismane. Swan has already featured in GB's Fed Cup squad. During this match, where I was sitting in the third row, one of the balls hit my knee and rebounded towards a ball girl - a perfect pass! In this entertaining encounter, the German/Latvian triumphed in straight sets.
After watching up and coming players, i decided it was time to see some that were more my generation, so headed to Court 3 to see a Gentleman's Invitation Doubles - Justin Gimelstob (USA) and Ross Hutchins (GB) against Mario Ancic (Croatia) and Jamie Delgado (GB). As always, the senior matches are played in a more relaxed atmosphere and the American/GB combination triumphed in straight sts, 6-2, 7-5. Gimelstob was vocally supported throughout by his young son, who joined him on court to celebrate.
Staying on Court 3, a Senior Gentleman's Doubles followed featuring the Woodies (Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde) from Australia against Holland's Richard Krajicek and GB's Mark Petchey. The Dutch-British pair started strongly, winning the first set. The Woodies fought back and took the second set on a tie-breaker. The match was then decided on a Champions Tie-break - the first to 10 points. The Woodies were victorious.
Finally I sauntered over the Court Two for an entertaining Mixed Doubles match. Marcelo Demoliner and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez were up against Mate Pavic and Lyudmyla Kichenok. This proved to be the very last match of the day at the Championships. The Demoliner / Martinez Sanchez partnership triumphed in three sets.
So a fantastic day. Over 9 hours of tennis, 6 matches all for just £20 - Bargain!
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